Merril L Sandoval was an American Navajo World War II veteran and a member of the Navajo Code Talkers, a group of United States Marines who transmitted important messages in their native Navajo language in order to stop the Japanese from intercepting sensitive material.
20 Facts About Merril Sandoval
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Merril Sandoval was born on April 18,1925, in Nageezi, New Mexico.
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Merril Sandoval was later enrolled at Farmington Methodist Mission School in Farmington, New Mexico, where he was taught English and other subjects meant to Americanize himself and other Navajos.
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Merril Sandoval was only a freshman in high school when he was first approached by United States Marine recruiters.
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Merril Sandoval was allowed to join the Marines by his father one year later.
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Merril Sandoval never worked with his brother, Samuel, who was a code talker during the war.
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Merril Sandoval boarded a train to Santa Fe, New Mexico, when he was 17 years old, where he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1943.
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Merril Sandoval completed boot camp in San Diego before being transferred to Camp Pendleton's Radio Communication School, where he was trained to become a code talker.
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Merril Sandoval was initially sent to Hawaii by the Marines.
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Merril Sandoval then sent the messages, which were encoded in Navajo, back to United States commanders who were based on Hawaii.
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Merril Sandoval had the responsibility of passing orders to Marines on the front lines.
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Merril Sandoval saw action in Iwo Jima, Saipan and Allied occupied Japan.
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Merril Sandoval managed to swim approximately 100 yards to the Iwo Jima beach, where he survived a constant barrage of shelling by the Japanese for the next twenty-four hours.
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Merril Sandoval was honorably discharged from the military in March 1946 as a US Marine corporal.
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Merril Sandoval returned to the United States in order to finish high school.
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Merril Sandoval then worked as an interpreter for the Navajo legal courts for an additional sixteen years.
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Merril Sandoval died on February 9,2008, at the age of 82 at St Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.
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Merril Sandoval had been in failing health for the preceding year.
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Merril Sandoval was survived by his wife and four of their five children.
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Merril Sandoval had 17 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.